Venetian blind construction



1954 H. s. ROSENBAUM 2,687,171

VENETIAN BLIND CONSTRUCTION Filed July 27, 1951 INVENTOR BY in. U FtcksATTORNEY Patented Aug. 24, 1954 UNITED s'rrss TENT OFFICE VENE'EIANBLIND CONSTRUCTION Application July 27, 1951, Serial No. 238,802

ll Claims. 01. ice-17s) This invention relates to a cord and tape lad:der fastener particularly adapted for fastening the lower ends of tapeladders and operating cords of Venetian blinds to the bottom rail ofsuch blinds.

A Venetian blind ordinarily comprises a tilt bar, a bottom bar or rail,and pairs of vertical tapes depending from the tilt bar so that theyface each other. The tapes extend downwardly the entire length of theblind and are fastened to the bottom bar or rail. Evenly spaced crossbars are provided between each pair of tapes to support the slats. Theseslats have holes therethrough adjacent the tapes to permit the passageof a blind raising cord which is fastened to the bottom rail and extendsupwardly over pulleys usually positioned adjacent to the tilt bar. Byrotating the tilt bar, the slats may likewise be tilted so as tomaintain a substantially parallel relationship with the tilt bar and thebottom bar or rail.

Heretofore, it has been customary to secure the ends of the tapespermanently to the bottom rail as by drawing the ends of the tapes aboutthe bottom rail and securing the ends thereto by means of tacks, screwsor other means. In recent years, Venetian blinds have been constructedof metal slats and bottom railsas distinguished from the previously usedslats and rails formed of wood, thereby making it difiicult to securethe ends of the tape ladders and the operating cords readily to thebottom rails in an inconspicuous manner which will permit quickattachment and detachment of these elements.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for attaching a cordand tape ladder to,

the upper surface of a bottom rail of a Venetian blind which means isconcealed from view and does not mar the appearance of the blind.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cord and tapeladder attaching means for aVenetian blind wherein the attaching meansis formed as a detachable plate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cord and tapeladder attaching means for a Venetian blind wherein the plate includes alatch arrangement for securing the cord in position.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cord and tapeladder attaching means wherein the plate further includes means forsecuring the tape thereto.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant inventionwill be apparent from 2 the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the cord and tape ladder fastenerattached to the bottom rail;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device in attached position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device in the cord releasing position,with the device in the unit releasing position shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the device in process ofbeing assembled to the bottom rail; and

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the device re-- moved from the bottomrail.

More specifically, according to the present invention, there is provideda longitudinal slot on the uppersurface of the bottom rail at each pointwhere the tape ladder and cord is to be attached thereto, and a devicecapable of securely but detachably gripping the lower end of the tapeladder and cord is inserted into the slot and securely but detachablyfastened to the bottom rail.

Inthe drawing, the numeral It) refers generally to a Venetian blindhaving a bottom rail H joined by vertical tapes l2 to a tilt rail (notshown). The vertical tapes I 2 are joined by cross bars or members l3.As shown in Fig. 5, the bottom rail II is hollow and consists of anelongated strip of sheet metal bent to a substantially rectangular crosssection by overlapping the longitudinal edges as at [4. The lappedsurface is utilized as the lower surface thereof, and the upper surfaceis provided with a plurality of slots [5 in positions corresponding tothe points at which the tape ladders are to be attached. As illustrated,the slots i5 extend longitudinally along the rail and are rectangular inshape. The upper and lower surfaces of the bottom rail can be shaped asrounded surfaces, as shown in the drawing, to provide a more pleasingappearance to the resulting blind.

The fastener device It, illustrated in Fig. '7, comprises a curvedsurface i7 curved in an arc corresponding to the curve of the uppersurface of the bottom rail. Opposite lateral. edges i8, B9 of the curvedsurface are bent downwardly at 90 to form flanges l8, It. The central.

portion of flange. l8 has an extension 20 integral therewith that isbent outwardly to a substantially horizontal position. The width ofextension is somewhat less than the width of slot 15 in the bottom railso that extension 25 can be readily inserted therein. A bayonet slot 2|is provided in flange 8 at each side of extension 2S, for a purpose tobe described hereafter.

The curved surface 1'! is. provided with a cord opening 22 therein that"is relatively wide at the outer end adjacent to edge I8 and relativelynarrow at the inner end adjacent to the center of the curved surface 1?.The wider opening is sufficiently wide to permit passage of the knottedend of the cord, whereas the narrow opening is merely wide enough topermit passage of the cord itself but not the knotted. end thereof.Adjacent to the outer end of cord opening 22, a portion of curvedsurface i7 is bent upwardly and then flattened as at 23 to form a catchit. The catch 23 is located adjacent to the flange i3 and has a widthapproximately the same as extension 20.

Flange I9 is cut away at the central portion 25 and is adapted toreceive a latch assembly 26 therein. The latch assembly 26 is hinged tothe surface ll adjacent to the flange I9 so that the entire latchassembly 26 can be swung upwardly about the hinge to the position shownin Fig. 7 and downwardly to the operative position adjacent to thesurface 11. The latch assembly 26 comprises a hinge portion 2'! and alatch portion 28 which are pivotally attached to one another to permithorizontal rotation of the latch portion 28 with respect to the hingeportion 21. The hinge portion 2 includes a pair of loops 29 adapted topass through small openings at in the curved surface H adjacent to theflange iii to provide the hinge. An extension 3i extends outwardly fromthe hinged section, and a flat portion 32 extends inwardly. The latchportion 28 is pivotally attached to the flat portion 32. The latchportion 28 is in the general shape of a semi-circle having a cutawayportion 33 at the center thereof. A knob 34 is provided along a portionof the circumference thereof for use in actuating the latch. When thelatch assembly 26 is in its operative position, flat against the curved.surface I! as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the outer surface of the latchportion 28 passes under the catch 24 and is retained therein. In thisposition, the cutaway portion 33 of the latch is in alignment with thenarrower inner portion of the cord opening 22 with the wider outerportion of the cord opening covered so that the resulting opening nearthe center of the curved portion H has a diameter approximately equal tothe diameter of the cord. The extension 3| on the latch assemblyextending outwardly therefrom is of a width slightly less than the widthof the slot 55 in the bottom rail and is adapted to pass through theslot 15. When the extension Si is swung downwardly about hinge loops 29until in a vertical position, extension 20, at the opposite end of thedevice, can then be inserted into the slot E5, as shown in Fig. 6, andthe entire device swung downwardly until extension 3! has passed intothe slot IE at the opposite side thereof. The catch assembly is thenswung downwardly to the curved portion 11, at the same time rotatingextension 3| to a horizontal position beneath the curved portion IT toprevent its removal therefrom.

A U-shaped member 35 has a pair of legs 36, 31 somewhat longer than thewidth of the vertical tape and a connecting portion 38 having a widthslightly greater than the cutaway portion 25 in flange Hi. Theconnecting portion 33 passes through the loops 29 beneath curved surface I"! and is thus rotatably hinged with respect to both curvedsurface I1 and latch assembly 25. The legs 36 and 3! are adapted toextend across beneath curved surface I! and pass into bayonet slots '2!to retain the U-shaped member '11 locked position. The U-shaped member35 is preferably made of thin material so that the outer ends of thelegs 3 31 are resilient and engage the bayonet slots tightly.

The method of assembling and utilizing this device will now bedescribed. Loops are provided at the lower end of each vertical tape [2by folding back a portion of the tape and sewing, stapling or otherwisesecuring it. The U-shapsd member is released from. the bayonet slots andswung downwardly from surface IT. The loop at the end of each verticaltape is inserted over a leg of the U-shaped member and the ends of thelegs are inserted into the bayonet slots, thus securing the ends of tapeladder to the fastener device with the ladder extending upwardlytherefrom. The latch assembly is next swung up wardly to the positionshown in Fig. 7. Extension 29 is now inserted into one side of the slotI5 in the bottom rail as shown in Fig. 6. The en tire fastener device isthen swung downwardly toward the bottom rail with the extension3lentering the slot l5. At this point, the latch assembly is swungdownwardly to curved portion [1, thus swinging extension 3! into thehollow portion of the bottom rail beneath the upper surface thereof. Theknotted end of the cord can now be inserted into cord opening 22 at thewider portion and the cord moved over to the narrow portion thereof. Thelatch portion 28 is now rotated until the end thereof passes beneath thecatch 24 to a fully locked position. In this posi tion, the operatingcord cannot be removed since the knot at the end thereof will not passthrough the resulting narrow cord opening. The fastener device isretained rigidly against the top surface of the bottom rail by the twoextensions thereon. The ends of the tape ladders are engaged beneath thecurved surface i'i within the bottom rail by the U-shaped member, withthe vertical tapes passing out and upwardly at-opposite sides of thedevice.

The tape ladders passing along opposite sides of the device tend toconceal the device so that although it is readily accessible, it isunseen and does not mar the appearance of the blind.

When it is desired to remove the operating cord alone, so thatindividual slats can be removed without removing the tape ladders, thelatch portion is swung horizontally about its vertical pivot axis to thecord releasing position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, in whichposition the end of the latch portion is still retained by the catch,however, the wider portion of the cord opening in the surface it isexposed, thus permitting removal of the knotted end of the cord.

in the bottom rail. This releases the bottom rail. By releasing theU-shaped member legs from the bayonet slots and swinging the memalltimes free to be removed and adjusted as necessary during the assemblyoperation. The completed assembly can be readily removed enber about itshinge, the tapeladder ends can be removed from the legs and released.

tirely, or if desired, the operating cord alone can I be removed withoutremoving the balance of the assembly.

' It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changesmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention andtherefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawingsand described in the specification but only as indicated in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Venetian blind having a bottom rail and employing a tape ladderand an operating cord, said bottom rail having a slot in the uppersurface thereof, a plate adapted to be disposed transversely across theupper surface of said bottom rail, said plate having a widthcorresponding to the length of said bottom rail slot, an extensionintegral with said plate and extending outwardly therefrom horizontallyin a plane lower than the upper surface of said plate, said extensionbeing slightly narrower than the width of said bottom rail slot, amember pivotally attached to said plate and having a portion extendingoutwardly therefrom in a direction opposite to said first extension in aplane lower than the upper surface of said plate, said member beingcapable of rotation from a vertical to a horizontal position while saidplate is in a horizontal position, whereby/said plate can be attached tothe upper surface of said bottom rail by inserting said extension intosaid bottom rail slot below said upper surface of the plate and movingsaid second member from a vertical to a horizontal position with theextending portion below said upper surface of the plate.

2. In a device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said plate has a cordopening therein wide enough at one end to permit passage of the knottedend of said operating cord, and narrow enough at the other end to permitpassage of the cord itself but not the knot thereon, and means forclosing the wide end of said opening so that only the narrow end of saidopening remains open, whereby removal of the knotted end of said cord isprevented when the closure means have been actuated. I

3. In a device in accordance with claim 1,

including means for locking said member into its horizontal positionthereby preventing removal of said plate from said bottom rail.

l. In a device in accordance with claim 3, wherein said plate has a cordopening therein wide enough at one end to permit passage of the knottedend of said operating cord, and narrow enough at the other end to permitpassage of the cord itself but not the knot thereon, and means forclosing the wide end of said opening so that only the narrow end of saidopening remains open, whereby removal of the knotted end of said cord isprevented when the closure means have been actuated.

5. In a device in accordance with claim 1, said plate having a cordopening therein wide enough at one end to permit passage of the knottedend of said operating cord, and narrowenough at the other end to permitpassage of the cord itself but not the knot thereon, a catch on theupper surface of said plate, a latch pivotally attached to said memberabout a vertical axis when the member is in its horizontal position,said latch being adapted to be rotated to a locked position wherein thelatch is retained by said catch and closes the wide end of said cordopenmg.

6. In a device in accordance with claim 1, including a U-shaped memberrotatably attached to said plate in such a. manner that the legs of saidmember are free to rotate with respect to said plate beneath the uppersurface thereof,

each said leg being adapted to engage the lower end of one vertical tapeof said tape ladder to fasten the end of said tape ladder to said bottomrail, and the portion connecting the legs of said U-shaped member actingas the pin for pivotally attaching said member to said plate.

7. In a device in accordance with claim 1, said plate having a cordopening therein wide enough at one end to permit passage of the knottedend of said operating cord, and narrow enough at the other end to permitpassage of the cord itself but not the knot thereon, a catch on theupper surface of said plate, a latch pivotally attached to said memberabout a vertical axis when the member is in its horizontal position,said latch being adapted to be rotated to a locked position wherein thelatch is retained by said catch and closes the wide end of said cordopening, said latch being so shaped that it may be rotated from aposition wherein it is retained by said catch and the wide portion ofsaid cord opening is closed, to an intermediate position wherein it isstill retained by said catch but the wide portion of said cord openingis not closed, and to an unlocked position wherein it is not retained bysaid latch and the wide portion of said cord opening is not closed.

8. In a Venetian blind having a bottom rail with a slot formed in theupper surface thereof, a plate disposed transversely across the uppersurface of said bottom rail and retained thereon, said plate having anoperating cord opening formed therein with a wide and narrow end, alatch assembly hinged to said plate, said latch assembly including ahinge portion having an extension integrally formed therewith in a planelower than the upper surface of said plate, said extension adapted toextend into said slot for securing said plate on said bottom rail, and alatch portion pivotally secured to said hinge portion and adapted to berotated over the upper surface of said plate to "cover the wide end ofsaid cord opening thereby retaining the knotted end of said cord beneathsaid plate.

9. In a Venetian blind as set forth in claim 8, a U-shaped memberpivotally secured to the lower surface of said plate in such a mannerthat the legs of said member are free to rotate with respect to saidplate, each of said legs engaging the lower end of a tape ladder therebyfastening said tape ladder to said bottom rail and the portionconnecting the legs of said U-shaped member acting as the pin forattaching said hinge portion to said plate.

10. In a Venetian blind as set forth in claim 9, wherein said plate hasa pair of bayonet slots formed therein for receiving the free ends ofsaid legs, thereby locking said U-shaped member in position against saidplate.

11. In a Venetian blind having a bottom rail, a plate adapted to besecured to said bottom said plate having an opening formed therein witha Wide end and a narrow end, extension means formed integral with saidplate adjacent said opening and extending outwardly from said plate in aplane lower than the upper surface of said plate to engage said bottomrail, latch means pivotally secured to said plate on the end oppositesaid extension means, said latch means including hinge means having asecond extension formed integral therewithv extending outwardlytherefrom in a plane lower than the upper surface of said plate, saidhinge means adapted to be moved from a vertical to aihorizontal positionthereby moving said second extension into engagement with said bottomrail, and a latch pivotally secured to said hinge means and adapted tobe moved over said wide end of said openingwhe'n said plate ispositioned on said bottom rail.

References Cited in theme of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,376,990 Wright May 29, 1945 2,508,7 2 Bell May 23, 19502,529,229 Sherwood Nov. 7, 1950 2,561,141 Schaefer July 17, 19512,574,609 Appelbaum Nov. 13, 1951 2,594,806 Rosenbaum Apr. 29, 19522,600,062 Lorentzen June 10, 1952 2,624,086 Schaefer Jan. 6, 1953FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,851 Great Britain 1901 10,799Great Britain 1912

